progress of the 21st century. and it's in this spirit that with [inaudible] that i'm happy to salute with all my friendship, we are going to start a new period of our links, our ties, mayor lee is a very popular man, a very popular mayor and i want to know first the reputation of the people of san francisco through him and through his progress. we have another common link, we believe that innovation can be noble if it starts many the people, so from the intervention of people in the democracy, a dynamic democracy, of course with new cooperation, new act of cooperation, first of all, there's always

innovation [inaudible] of working in a smart and efficient way. we work together on the program as smart cities where we want san francisco -- other cities to be modern cities but also civilized cities which means that consider that everything we wish for as far as economic development is concerned must consider the environment also, and the quality of the planet on which we live. with mr. lee, we talked about all these questions and of course we are going encourage all of these new companies and everything that enables us to improve our cities and make them a better place to live and

less polluted place to live, as may it in transportation, management of energy, in san francisco and in paris, there are innovations that are certainly ahead of many other cities in the world and i want to learn from san francisco and of course paris is there for the san francisco team, may it be a development of electric transportation or automobiles or [inaudible] or the reuse of energy of heat to heat private buildings or public building by using waste water, i explained to mayor lee that a couple of years now, i worked with bill clinton on the isolation of

public buildings and specifically schools so that every year, we could renovate 100 schools in paris and the children are in heated rooms but where we don't waste energy. these are subjects on which we have a lot of common ambition and where we'd like to exchange our dynamic efforts between san francisco and paris. but what would be a cooperation between san francisco and paris without culture? in san francisco, there's so much talent, so much genius, so much creation of cultural events that i want to open my doors of paris to them, [inaudible] that's an emblem

that i created for the creative arts that come from new technology, i know there are fwraet creators in music and classic art, they are home in paris, that is where i will welcome them. you have beautiful dancers and the director of the [inaudible] is here with us today, there are dancers from san francisco that i would love to welcome at the [inaudible] vil in paris, but we too, we have talent, we have some talent, we have a lot of passion for artistic creation so it may be in music and theatre and painting, we are ready to share a lot here in san francisco and i'm happy to have my trip be with the first visit of a french company

in the united states, the great artist had its head in [inaudible] that was in los angeles a couple of days ago, will be in berkeley tomorrow and then after that in new york of course, so there you are, that is how we are civilized together, how we are human beings that try to push ahead san francisco, paris, two cities that are destined to understand everything and do the maximum understanding because san francisco and paris believe in progress, know that it's difficult that progress of a factor of human development, we don't want to forget anybody, we want to shoulder

each other, help each other so that the two cities, san francisco and paris be the most attractive cities in the world but also the most smiling cities in the world, the most -- the cities that are worth your affection and that express to the rest of the world their taste of friendship, fraternity, friendship and for that we have to be together, we have to wan -- want to draoe yait toing and we want to make sure that this memorandum of understanding, this understanding between paris and san francisco be a final way of saying to each other it's happiness to live in both san francisco and paris together. thank you very much.

[applause]. >> my presence to san francisco is maybe not as symbolic as the golden gate. i done have with me works of art that express when the banks of the san river won't have anymore cars that i started recently, but parisian artists know how to do things that we like a lot, so this is an object that is very symbolic of paris for you. [applause].

>> so, there's little christo and bakarage. >> what's wrong? what's wrong? >> [inaudible]. >> he's not happy? what's going on? >> how beautiful. i'm going to put your picture in it. beautiful. >> thank you, mayor. isn't the french language absolutely so exciting, but maybe because it's coming out

of the mouth of this wonderful mayor. and i always thought we were great but didn't he make us sound great? even better? and i do see that we have the fire chief here in case, you know, we have had an earthquake and fire, so we brought the chief, chief haze in, and also a former first lady, gina miskony, gina, she's right behind the photographer, her husband was mayor and his portrait is right up here. so, we're coming to the signing, more important, of the signing, but tom horn is the one as been said has been leading us, in fact, we had to put a leash on him and we have him guarded at the airport with security guards because he would be on that air france

airplane almost every day if we let him so we won't let him go because he does a wonderful job, he'll present a few words and then i'll present the mayor to signs the forof understanding, may i present tom horn. >> (speaking french). mayor lee, council general, we commemorate today the 16th anniversary of our sister city of cord signed in san francisco in 1976. during this period, we have twice received official visits

of the mayor of paris and paris has received three different mayors of san francisco. and each visit has led to projects and agreements between our two cities that have been beneficial and advantageous to each. there is even one exchange in the field of fashion wean the academy of art and university and the most famous fashion schools in paris that begin at the beginning of our relationship and continue stronger than ever today.

gladys pamer, the director of the department of fashion, gladys pamer, our sister city committee member is here today, we have worked closely in the area of public transit, thank tos you, mr. mayor, the urban furniture that you showed us in paris now exists throughout san francisco, whether it be the bus stops, public toilets or the french kiosks used to distribute newspapers or other products.

thanks to our relationship, we saw for the first time a successful bike share program and i still have my cart delebre that you gave each of us on our visit to paris. [laughter]. >> and i remember fondly sort of, my first [inaudible] that day in suit and tie with mayor

newsom in pouring rain in paris in front of city hall. like you in san francisco, reduction of pollutants and greenhouse gases is a priority. you've seen how bicycle lanes throughout san francisco, even on our famous hills and after too long a delay, we ant pate launching our bike share program in 2013. our two cities have been in the

forefront.in the fields of high-tech and digital media. digital sister cities. on your last visit in 2006 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of our partnership, we signed an accord being digital sister cities. this accord has facilitated numerous parisian company ins establishing companies in san francisco such as parisoma which we will visit tomorrow.

and we see companies based in san francisco that create branches in paris such as soef fee nova whose ceo, a member of the city sister committee is with us today. there are many other examples of successful and flourishing business and commercial relations between our two cities, an atmosphere made part in possible due to the close working relationship between our two close municipalities. finally, as each of the mayors before me, i must comment on the world of art and culture of

which san francisco and paris are two world capitals. our cultural exchanges are often, live the highest quality. many san francisco cultural institutions of every size perform frequently in paris. san francisco's symphony

presents every year in paris and the new president of their board of directors is here today, so also deshanty clear, a smaller men's choral group, a member of our committee is here today as well. and parisian artists are often in san francisco in the region and they're always warmly welcomed. at this very moment as the mayor said earl ye, we are pleased to welcome to the bay area e man yell, director of st

vil de la paris who will be presenting tomorrow the and the next niekt the masterpiece of the absurd rhinoceros. the ties between our two cities are strong, now with this new agreement, we assure they will continue and remain strong and beneficial for the great cities of paris and san francisco. [applause]. >> do you think he interpreted himself well? so, you can see why he is our chairman, now the moment has come, mayors, to sign the memorandum of understanding. yes, sign it.

[applause]. (next event). >> jennifer wagner. jnny first joined the league in san francisco in 2001 and has since volunteered in many roles

at the local, regional and state and nation levels she currently volunteered as the president of the league of woman voters of california, and is a small business owner here in san francisco. she holds a degree in government, from claire mont college and a policy. >> good evening, everyone, candidates. >> good evening. >> this year we have two candidates for state assembly state 19, michael brior and phil tim. >> they will answer questions that you in the audience submit as well as the questions submitted to the league of women voters. in addition, the viewers from the senior center may submit questions on-line. the time keepers will hold up a yellow card to signify to the candidates that they have 15 seconds remaining and hold up a red card when it is time to

stop. >> both have asked the supporters to be respectful of the candidate and the audience and to maintain the quiet during the forum, i also ask you to respect this commitment, please. >> you all have many important decision to make on november 6th, and today's forum will give you the opportunity to ask questions to help you make your decisions. now, let's begin. >> our first question is a very general... actually i want to start with one here that is from the richmond senior center sent in on-line. >> the census data, and we are going to start with mr. brire >> data shows that many are adults with disabilities or seniors it is expected to grow to 25 percent by 2020, do you feel that you understand the needs and challenges of seniors and adults with disabilities in district 19? what do you think we worry

about and how will you help us to stop worrying? >> so, absolutely, while i am a young person, i do believe that we really have an obligation to protect our seniors. and when you see services to seniors being cut, you have to realize that they have contribute to the system their entire life and this is a time that they need services even more than other moments. and when you look at what is going on, you also have to say that there is the statistic that you gave is actually the start of the baby booming population, as she growing older. so we actually need more and more services, we need to actually have people trained to provide those services as well. and so, i think, of my great aunt, who is 94 years old, who

is i speak to as much as i can, when i think about what the senior population is going through and really care about their children and their future as well. >> thank you, mr. bryer. >> first off, thank you to the league of women voters and jr. voters for hosting this discussion tonight very glad to be here. i think of my grandmother and the amount of work that it took to take care of. we had an enormous amount of support from inhost services and i think about the california budget which has a $20,000 budget gap and the inhome services was one of those services that was cut where it was decided that we could not provide seniors care at home. instead, they are now going to the emergency room and seeking much more expensive healthcare. we need to do a whole list tick approach and cut back the safety net that we have been cutting. and we need to make sure that we honor or seniors by making

sure that they are taken care of during their later years in life. >> so a related question starting you mr. ting. >> retirees are faced with threats from their benefits from under funded pension funds what would you do to stop this from happening in the future and how do you make them live up to their obligations >> that is a great question, someone who is a fiscal question who has been working hard to make sure that the city and county of san francisco does everything possible to leave up responsibilities my office help to bring in above the budget due to the hard work of our office. pensions are a major issue not only in san francisco and the state. part of the work that we did last year where we worked with labor unions and unix to debate and discuss and dialogue and we found a pension proposal that we could bring forward to the voters in the city and county

of san francisco which was passed and we know that that is not the final step that the first of many things that we are going to have to do to make sure that we have a balanced budget. the worst thing that we can do is to make sure that we need to make sure that pensions are going to be there for people when they retire and we need to do everything possible to make sure that we live up to the obligations that we promised people when they started working. >> mr. bryer. >> pension is something that is critically important for the state. and we have huge obligations in the pension funds that have been unfunded and right now we are assuming something like a 7 and a half percent on pension returns when the private sector the returns are, you know, anticipated around 4 percent. and so this is an area where we have to be honest about how can we insure that people who have worked and who have contributed are going to have pensions in the future? and so, we really have to,

approach i got very excited about was what i redid in san francisco, it is one of the reasons that i started the drafted campaign and he worked with the unions to really be honest with how our system is going to be funded for not just in five years or ten years, but for the next generation. paramount importance. >> so expanding on that question, mr. bryer. >> what do you think can be done to address some of the systemic problem with the states' finances? >> we have to do a number of things. i mean, we literally are in a fiscal crisis. we have cities in the state going bankrupt. we have incredible challenges on our hands. and we have to increase revenue. we have to decrease costs. which are popular and which are a necessity. but most importantly we have to grow the economy.

and so there are a host of host of measures in each of those areas that are absolutely critical for our future and they are not easy decisions to be making but we have to make them sooner rather than later. because if you just pass the buck, it is the next generation who is going to be holding the bag. and in my mind, that is why i am running. it is really to look out for the children who are not voters, who are not being actually considered in my mind as much as they should. >> thank you. >> mr., chig how would you address the state's financial problems? >> we are about a hundred billion dollar budget here in california. we spent about a hundred billion and we bring in $80 billion revenue and that is a $20 billion budget gap, the

fastest way for that is to grow jobs, we created clean, green collared jobs and brought jobs from overseas here into san francisco. she is are models that we can take to continue to grow our economy. unfortunately that is not going to be enough. we have to also look at ways to raise revenue, that is why i am in support of our governor's tax measure because it brings critical funding to schools. that is why i am supportive of making sure that we are cleaning out and becoming more efficient through what i have done through office and to make government much more receptive and efficient. >> that leads into the question about civic engagement. it is critical that people are engaged to have a safe, strong and vibrant state. what have you done and what will you do to encourage the kind of participation that you are talking about. >> i think that transparency and disclosure are some of the main reasons that